SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy will take his first snaps of the season in six months and look to show why he, presumably, will have signed the richest contract ever by a 49ers quarterback.
Purdy no longer must force throws to Deebo Samuel, who’ll officially be traded to the Washington Commanders once the NFL’s new fiscal year arrives March 12.
So who’ll be in Purdy’s crosshairs? Who’ll replace Samuel as a play-making threat in the open field (see: 2021 All-Pro season)? Who’ll join the roster in the coming months, first in next week’s free agency then in the April 24-26 draft, where they’ll hold a fifth-round pick in return for Samuel?
Let’s try to answer some of these hypotheticals:
1. WHO’S STILL HERE?
Look for the 49ers to be led by Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk, who’ll be coming off right-knee reconstruction in November. Don’t overlook tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey as potent receiving threats, if healthy and if Kittle gets another contract extension.
Jennings, like Kittle, has just one year remaining on a contract that doesn’t match their deservingly higher pay grade.
General manager John Lynch did not dispute reports that teams have inquired about trading for Aiyuk. With Samuel costing $31 million against this year’s cap, the 49ers’ finances would be further hindered by already trying to get out from under Aiyuk’s contract (four years, $120 million) and leaving Purdy without two trusted targets.
Jacob Cowing went virtually untapped as a fourth-round rookie speedster, with just four catches for 80 yards in 106 offensive snaps last year. Trent Taylor and Russell Gage are veterans under minimum contract who mostly toiled on the practice squad last year. Terique Owens, son of Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, worked hard to improve as an undrafted rookie last year on the practice squad.
2. WHO’S HITTING THE MARKET?
Free agency talks begin March 10. Lynch spoke Wednesday about the 49ers’ recalibration to go younger and presumably cheaper after years of rewarding star employees and occasionally acting as big-game hunters.
Davante Adams, a Palo Alto High School product and six-time Pro Bowler, should tempt the 49ers if he’s released by the New York Jets, though he surely won’t come as a hometown bargain. Christian Kirk, Cooper Kupp, and Tyler Lockett are other who reportedly could get cut.
It will be interesting to see if the 49ers get tempted once again to chase a star player rather than rush Aiyuk’s comeback – a strategy that didn’t pan out a year ago when they tried to cover for linebacker Dre Greenlaw, only to have Eric Kendricks renege and thus resort to disinterested veteran De’Vondre Campbell.
Set to hit the higher-end market: Tee Higgins, Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Brandin Cooks and Chris Godwin; Stefon Diggs is, too, but he tore an ACL a week before Aiyuk did last season. Higgins is only 26, and it’s rare for an accomplished young receiver to be available, presuming the Bengals don’t franchise tag him again by Tuesday’s deadline. Other receivers shy of 29: Marquise Brown, Darius Slayton, K.J. Osborn, Elijah Moore, Rondale Moore, Tutu Atwell, Josh Palmer and Jalen Reagor.
3. WHO WERE COMBINE STARS?
Would they dare use a first-rounder on a wide receiver a year after selecting Pearsall there? It’s more likely they weed out one or two receivers among other 10 draft picks, rather than make a run at Luther Burden III (Missouri), Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona), Matthew Golden (Texas) or Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State).
That quartet ran the 40 under 4.4 seconds in last week’s NFL scouting combine, as did Dont’e Thornton (Tennessee), Chimere Dike (Florida), Jaylin Lane (Virginia Tech), Arian Smith (Georgia), Tai Felton (Maryland), KeAndre Lambert-Smith (Auburn), Jordan Watkins (Ole Miss), Isaiah Bond (Texas) and Jaylin Noel (Iowa State).
Maybe they envision Purdy connecting with another Iowa State product in Noel or Jayden Higgins. Maybe they shop local with Elic Ayomanor (Stanford) or Nick Nash (San Jose State). They covet versatility, but perhaps the focus should be on a split end and/or vertical threat.
This draft’s most intriguing wide receiver is Travis Hunter, who was lumped in with the cornerbacks at last week’s combine and surely will be out of the 49ers’ first-round reach.
4. WHAT IS DEEBO’S LEGACY?
Only 10 49ers had more receiving yards in their career than Samuel, and only 11 had more yards from scrimmage. He was the NFL’s first wide receiver to score at least 20 touchdowns both receiving and rushing.
Samuel was at his best in odd-number years (2019, ’21, ’23), and that is what he’s entering cross country in Washington under coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters, both of whom have ties to the 49ers’ organization past and present. They’re fully aware of what Samuel brings at his peak, and now offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury must get the most out of Samuel to complement Jayden Daniels, who Aiyuk wanted to pair with a year ago.
Samuel’s final act as a 49er wasn’t pretty, even as a second-time captain. There was the on-field confrontation with maligned kicker Jake Moody and then long snapper Taybor Pepper in Tampa. There was Samuel’s social-media griping about not getting the ball enough, after their only win the final two months of the season. There were abrasive, curt interviews with the media.
And there was an alarming dip in production, from failing to run around the edge on predictable carries to dropping a potential touchdown pass against a rival (the Rams) he’s long tormented. Weight issues dogged him throughout his tenure, but that bulldozer of a body often battled through injuries so he could, in his words, get “the ball in the box.”
Who’ll take his spot and lead the 49ers onto the field before kickoff, whether or not a supersized boom box is part of that escort? Who’ll sidle up to Shanahan before every practice for friendly banter? Who’ll wear No. 1, which Samuel switched to last year from No. 19 while adding “Sr.” to his nameplate to reflect his admirable pride of fatherhood?
Who’ll have the stones to demand the ball – and perform with it – when the 49ers’ collective playoff life is on the line? The answer to all the above: Stay tuned.